The present disclosure relates to a vehicle seat, and particularly to a vehicle seat including a support member that is attached to a side frame of a seat back frame and supports a seated occupant from a side of the seated occupant.
As a technique for protecting a seated occupant against a sideways impact of a vehicle, vehicles including a door-mounted airbag in which an airbag module is disposed on a side of a seat, for example, in the interior of a side door, are conventionally known.
Moreover, similarly, as a technique aimed at impact reduction during a side collision, and further for suitably supporting a seated occupant from the occupant's side during normal operation, Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-095597 discloses a technique to provide a side portion of a seat back frame with a side support internally including a cavity for impact reduction and providing flexibility. Specifically, according to Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-095597, a seated occupant is horizontally moved during a side collision and presses against the side support so that the cavity of the side support is crushed, which allows the seated occupant to horizontally move, whereby impact can be absorbed.
As in the disclosure of Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-095597, in a case in which the cavity in the side support reduces sideways impact from a seat while the seated occupant can be supported on the occupant's side during normal operation as well, providing a cavity that is sufficiently large for impact absorption is required. Accordingly, an amount of protrusion of the side support toward a seat sideward space becomes necessarily large, which results in reducing an interior space of the vehicle.